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Which few words come to mind when you hear PRRS?

Which few words come to mind when you hear PRRS?

Published on: June 30, 2016

The Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome is at the centre of every conversation between farmers and swine veterinarians in the most important pig producing countries worldwide, with the exception of Australia, Brazil, Argentina and some Scandinavian countries.

If you are working in an environment that is positive for the porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome, control of the disease is the key element in all discussions. The vets in this video reflect perfectly what PRRS means when someone mentions this BIG WORD.

PRRS means problems, regardless of whether it is the respiratory or the reproductive form of the disease, everything gets worse when PRRS is around, says Albert Rovira in his contribution, and this is really relevant because working in diagnostics as he does, there are few cases where the porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome is not involved. It´s pretty well known that this disease is normally at the centre of any respiratory coinfection in piglets and fatteners.

However, for Alberto Stephano the key word is frustration and it certainly is, he is absolutely right because, in the past or even today, a great deal of effort has gone into to controlling this syndrome and yet there have been many failures. Moreover, another of our speakers, Darwin Reicks from the Swine Vet center in Minnesota, agrees on that statement and I loved one of the quotes when he says: It seems the virus is often one step ahead of us .

Coming back to Europe and from Barcelona University, one of the most highly regarded European researchers in the porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome, Enric Mateu, introduces a new word to us: challenges, because of the difficulty of control in the long term, and this is also a key point we would like to mention. We have enough knowledge for this disease to be controlled, but the question here is for how long? It´s clear and even though it is a parameter, some vets are using it as an indicator, reinfections do exist, and the question that many producers are asking is… When will the next PRRS outbreak occur on my farm?

Quim Segales and Luc Dufresne concur on another shocking word, devastation and devastating disease, but not only when the disease affects a negative farm for the first time, but with the persistence of the virus circulating with a heterologous pattern around the multiple buildings of the farms.

However, for practitioners like Albert Finestra and Alberto Morillo, the disease symptoms are at the top of the list of words that come to mind, and as well as that, Albert adds that more than words you´ll have mixed feelings, such as panic amongst others. Carlo Lasagna from Italy agrees on panic and he adds a crucial term, not mentioned so far….disappointment for the farm´s employees.

Last but not least, and as usual, from the American point of view and with a tremendously practical vision, Scott Dee reflects on what the porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome really means for producers and veterinarians...and it means ECONOMIC LOSSES.

We believe that the highlighted words (in bold) in the text provide a true summary of what this disease means for everyone involved in this industry. Let´s not lose hope!!!!!!